Fire breaks out at Silver Arc Mall,computer lab of Arya College

Two major fire incidents in the city on Sunday kept the fire department on its toes.
In the first incident, fire broke out at Silver Arc Mall on Ferozepur road. The fire department got a call around 9.20 am. Reportedly, the flames came out from ‘Guess’ showroom on the ground floor and soon the security department of the mall got to know of it.

While four fire tenders were rushed to the spot, it took almost an hour to control the fire. It was due to timely action taken by the mall security employees that fire was confined to the showroom.

Talking to Newsline, assistant divisional fire officer Bhupinder Singh said, “The mall had all adequate and latest fire safety equipment and permissions. However, since the fire broke out in the storeroom of the showroom where woollens were stored, the smoke reached the smoke detectors installed in the ceiling late. But the sprinklers were turned on immediately by mall employees which reduced the loss.”

A cosmetic store and Easyday store in the mall also suffered some losses because of the water that entered their stores during the rescue operation.

In the second incident, around 1.30 pm, fire broke out in the computer lab of Arya College, Civil Lines. More than 25 computers of the college were gutted by the fire but a major tragedy was averted as the students were out of the room due to lunch-break. Few teachers were inside who rushed out immediately.

“Students were out after taking an exam. Another exam was scheduled after the lunch-break,” said a college teacher.

Principal R C Tejpal told Newsline, “We are yet to estimate the exact loss and the reason for fire but thankfully all students are safe.”

Two fire tenders controlled the flames in half an hour on the college campus. Short circuit is believed to be the reason behind both the fire incidents.